After the Ball, Before the Storm
by tvjunkie
Summary: Set after the Nurses' Ball 2016. Mac calls Kevin out on his feelings for Laura. A one-shot.


**After the Ball, Before the Storm**

Despite having gotten barely any sleep the previous night, Kevin had a spring in his step as he walked into the Floating Rib and sat on his usual bar stool that Mac had kept open for him. "I'm starving."

"I just put the order in."

"Great," Kevin smiled.

"You're in a good mood," Mac remarked with amusement. "It wouldn't have anything to do with your date for the Nurses' Ball last night, would it?"

"My-? Oh," Kevin chuckled. "You mean Laura. She wasn't my date."

"Could've fooled me. You two were basically tied at the hip all night."

"As you know, the Nurses' Ball is not my favorite time of the year, but it's a good cause and I like supporting it. Laura and I ran into each other there and she very kindly agreed to accompany me. That's it."

"Did she also agree to spend half the night looking at you and not the stage?"

"I must have missed that," Kevin said with a smile that said he definitely had not.

Mac gave him a pointed look as he handed Kevin his drink. "And did you also miss the looks that _Lucy_ was throwing your way?"

"Actually, I did," Kevin told him, surprising them both. Truth be told, he hadn't given Lucy much thought after he had walked into the ballroom with Laura. Before he had time to analyze that, Mac got his attention again.

"Well, Laura didn't."

"How do you know?"

Mac grinned. "Because Felicia had to go calm Lucy down after Laura stared her down with the sweetest smile you've ever seen."

Kevin laughed. "Did she?"

"She did. So tell me again how she wasn't your date?"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I am," Mac agreed without shame. "I'm glad you're getting out. Especially since you banned me from setting you up a year ago."

"I wasn't ready," Kevin repeated his reasoning to a nodding Mac.

"I know. And now?"

Kevin sidestepped the question. "Laura and I are just friends."

"Is that why you've been smiling more in the past month than you have in the past two years?"

"I do have a good time with Laura," Kevin conceded. "We're working on a very interesting mystery. It has my creative juices going."

"That's what has your juices going, huh?" Mac smirked. "Not the beautiful woman?"

Kevin ignored the friendly mocking and answered sincerely. "Yes, Laura is beautiful. But that's not why I enjoy her company. She's also smart, and inquisitive, and-"

"Fun. She's fun, too."

"Yes." Kevin looked curiously at Mac. "She is."

"I remember."

Kevin was still giving Mac that questioning look, so Mac continued. "We spent some time together when both our marriages were falling apart, what was it, like fifteen years ago? Man, that was a long time ago. I never told you about it?"

Kevin shook his head.

"Well, we never really dated. You remember how I was during that time. Laura understood better than anyone and we sort of just got thrown together by chance." Mac laughed lightly. "It was better than it sounds. We got good and drunk and almost fell into bed together. Oh, and we danced on a roof once. That was fun." Mac smiled fondly at the memories. "She was a bright spot during a bad time."

Kevin had an odd knot of feeling forming in his chest as Mac reminisced. His face was impassive, but Mac noticed the shift in his best friend's mood.

"You okay, Kev?"

"Yes, why?"

Mac was blunt. "Because you look jealous." He put out his hand to stop Kevin from protesting. "And don't bother trying to deny it. Why are you fighting this? You like her, don't you?"

Kevin took a sip of his orange juice to wet his suddenly dry mouth. He hadn't expected to be interrogated about his feelings for Laura when he was still trying to sort them out himself. "Mac."

Mac understood. "You're not ready. I get it. But you know a woman like that isn't going to be alone for long. And what if Luke comes back?"

The distaste on Kevin's face mirrored Mac's; neither one was a fan of Laura's ex-husband.

"Noted," Kevin said.

Mac nodded, accepting Kevin's one-word answer. "So when are you going to see her again?"

"Tomorrow," Kevin said, a smile forming on his face again. "We're going to a place called Beecher's Corners."

"Out of town trip, huh? That's a -" Mac's advice was interrupted by a loud crash coming from the backroom. "Hold on," he told Kevin as he rushed to see what had happened.

Kevin took the time to finish his drink, his mind returning to the Nurses' Ball and the feeling he'd had throughout the night that had been particularly hard to ignore when he'd walked Laura to her car and felt the desire to stretch out the last few moments before they said goodnight. He'd restrained the impulse to close the gap between them and kiss her, but the way she had looked at him as she thanked him for a lovely evening made him think maybe she felt the same way. The thought had kept him up the rest of the night.

Maybe Mac was right. Maybe the time to be cautious was over.

His reverie was interrupted as his phone vibrated inside his jacket. He took it out and smiled at the serendipity. It was Laura.

"Laura-" It was all he got to say.

"Kevin, thank God you answered."

The distress in her voice flipped a switch in Kevin as he unconsciously modulated his voice to be calm and reassuring. "Laura, what's wrong?"

"It's Nikolas."


End file.
